'Rocking' is extremely serious

Alcohol is a common cause of fights. Research shows that kicking someone during a fight can be more dangerous than using a sharp or blunt weapon.

A study of more than 25,000 emergency admissions found that foot use was more likely to cause serious injury than blunt or sharp objects or fists. However, the Violence Research Group in Cardiff has found that weapons cause more serious injuries. The study of Injury Prevention concludes that preventing kicking and using blunt objects should be a priority.

In total, the researchers commented on the evaluation of 31,000 injuries on patients to Wales University Hospital Emergency Department between 1999 and 2005. Men accounted for three-quarters of hospital patients because Wounds are related to violence. Nearly two-thirds said they were attacked by just one ' rival ' but one in four said they were attacked simultaneously by three or more people. It is entirely possible that the age at which a person suffered a serious wound up to the highest was 47 years old.

A total of 21.5% of wounds are caused by weapons - 11% due to a sharp object, 10.5% by a blunt object. More than half of the injured were punched and only 7% of them suffered injuries from being kicked while lying on the ground. In general, many serious wounds are caused by the use of weapons rather than physical attacks without weapons.

However, the researchers found that people who had been kicked were more likely to suffer serious injuries - even more so than those attacked by a sharp or blunt weapon. Wounds caused by firearms that are very rare are not considered.

Although researchers from Cardiff University were surprised that sharp objects were less likely to cause serious injuries, they said they could not distinguish between using knives or sharp weapons. Other as broken glass in the study that may have affected the results obtained.

Alcohol

Leading the research, Professor Jonathan Shepherd, a mouth and jaw-surgeon, warned that alcohol was a major contributor to the use of 'kicking' in brawls because of drunken people. easier to fall.

He said: 'There is an important link with alcohol. Often in fights people get kicked when they fall down and one of the ways to limit kicking is to reduce excessive drunkenness so that fewer people will fall. It is very important to note when to kick each other or when to use weapons - this determines the prosecution level and the attackers are punished. There are also announcements to ensure that objects that can be used as weapons like glass must be seized or cleaned up. ' However, he points out that Cardiff is one of the safest cities in the UK.

Martin Shalley, a consultant at the Emergency Department at Birmingham Central Hospital and president of the Emergency Medicine Association, said the study reflected his own experience. 'People are rarely injured by fists, but more often they are seriously injured by being kicked. Once we are on the floor, we are at higher risk of injury. '

Thien Kim